Source: MGTO

President’s Report

I hope this newsletter finds you all well. Welcome to the September issue of our newsletter.

I would firstly like to send our heartfelt prayers and wishes to all in who lost loved ones and There is a list on the next page of our upcoming events and I suffered from the devastation of Typhoon Hato. I am proud to hope to see you in attendance. be Macanese and to see the Community rally together to help th each other during this devastating time. Our “Welcome to Spring BBQ” on Sunday 17 September 2017 and would also like to remind you that our AGM is on Saturday October 21 at 10.00am.

This is my last newsletter for this term as President until the upcoming AGM in October, I would like to thank you all for your words of encouragement, love and support during this term. Thank you to our Committee, Interstate Reps and volunteer cooks for your sincere and selfless dedication to “maintain and promote the Macanese Culture.”

We hope you enjoy this Newsletter, a huge thank you to Dia de Sao Joao was held on 18th June 2017. It was great to Denice for your dedication as our Editor of our newsletter and see all members enjoy the Trivia and catch up with family and Maria for maintaining our website. friends. A huge thank you to our Committee for organising a Viva Macaenses! fun filled lunch, Lizette for organising the sumptuous menu and a special thank you to Marilia for organising the Trivia Best Wishes (pictured below participants during Trivia). Antonieta Manolakis President Casa de Macau Inc

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Upcoming Events MACAO SHOWS DETERMINATION AND PASSION AFTER TYPHOON HATO Please find below dates for upcoming events and note date change for October Sunday lunch at MCC. Message from MGTO ( and New Zealand) Firstly, our heartfelt wishes and prayers go out to all Date NSW Event details Location Casa de Macau members and their families and friends Sunday Welcome to Spring MCC who felt the brunt of Typhoon Hato’s fury. 17 September BBQ Not in our lifetime has tiny Macao experienced such a Saturday Annual General ferocious and intense storm which also struck Hong MCC 21 October Meeting - AGM Kong and neighbouring Guangdong province in . With winds gusting up to 240km/h and tides reaching Sunday 22 Sunday Lunch Chefs - MCC record levels, you could only imagine how terrifying it October Lizette and Nina would have been standing in the path of that deadly Sunday Sunday Lunch – storm on Wednesday, August 23. 19 November Chefs Pauline and MCC Relentlessly, Macao was lashed with hurricane winds Cesar Pereira and pounding rain – and the waves whipped up by the Sunday Ryde Eastwood wind became more threatening as the day went on. Christmas Lunch December 10 Leagues Club “Never before have I been so terrified,” wrote one MGTO colleague.

Another said: “It was an intense day which I definitely don’t want to experience again. So many people have lost a lot.” One media friend, who was staying at the Holiday Inn, Cotai, described the storm as an absolutely terrible experience. “I was on the 35th floor yet the building shook enough Congratulations to Alexia to make it feel like I was on a cruise ship,” she said. Conceicao Manolakis and At last report, at least six people lost their lives, Con Kambourakis who another 150 or more injured. announced their However, the toll only tells part of the story. Engagement on Tuesday The high tide created massive flooding in low-lying 1st August 2017 areas, causing a city-wide blackout, water supply stoppages and telecommunication breakdowns.

The disaster relief authorities reported hundreds of incidents caused by the typhoon, such as falling trees, antenna cables and advertising boards. But with the effects of the horrifying storm behind us, the people of Macao are showing great resilience in getting back on their feet. Many are friends, neighbours and family, a majority are strangers. The massive clean-up has begun, and judging by news bulletins and social media postings almost everyone is rolling up the sleeves to lend a hand in ensuring the work is done as swiftly and efficiently as possible. To see such havoc and despair via the TV screen has been very distressing for most who have grown to love Macao for what it is. But be assured, the people of Macao have the strength, determination, desire and passion to once again return We are pleased to welcome the following their home to its glorious self. new members, Calvin Coulter and Craig It’s only a matter of time. MIKE SMITH (MGTO Australia and NZ) Redstone

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Vicente Nicolau de Mesquita, memoria da acção de 25 de Agosto de 1849 – Esta espada dedicam.” a tragic hero “To the intrepid valour of Lieutenant of the Artillery Vicente On 25 August 1849, Vicente Mesquita, a young sub-lieutenant Nicolao de Mesquita, his fellow countrymen, the Macaenses in Hongkong, in memory of the feat of the 25th August, 1849, of the artillery in Macau, bravely led a charge that resulted in dedicate this sword.” ’1 the destruction of the Chinese fort known to the Portuguese as Passaleão and to the Chinese as Baishaling (, Pak Mesquita married young, aged 17, in 1835, but three of the Shan Lan). The story is well-known, and has been told in a five children, all girls, of this marriage all died in May 1842, recent article. Less well known is the tragedy that followed and another in 1859. His wife, Balbina Maria da Silveira, died some years later. Apparently deranged, he killed his wife and in 1857. Two years later, he married her sister, Carolina Maria daughter and then drowned himself. As a result, the church Josefa. There were two sons and a daughter of this marriage, authorities for many years denied him burial in consecrated all of whom survived infancy, but their daughter, Iluminada, ground. It was a dreadfully sad situation. died in the tragedy that would overwhelm the family in 1880.2 What he achieved in the brief episode that made him famous Fame leads to the envy of others, and people who thought is this. The , João Maria Ferreira do Mesquita had received too much recognition set out to Amaral, had been murdered by a Chinese mob, three days destroy his career. None of them had ever received a sword in earlier, and his head and left hand were severed and carried recognition of their valour. Mesquita’s promotion was slow, off as trophies. Following this, the guns of the fort began to though honours were awarded to him over the years in what fire on Portuguese troops near the border. A Chinese attack was considered an appropriate manner for an officer of his on Macau seemed imminent until Mesquita volunteered to rank: Cavaleiro da Ordem de Na Sra da Conceição da Vila lead an assault on the fort. He attacked with a small force of Viçosa (Knight of the Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila only 36 men. Baishaling was heavily garrisoned, but with Viçosa) in 1855, Cavaleiro e Comendador da Ordem de Aviz untrained and disorganised soldiers who fled at the sight of (Knight, in 1857, then Commander, in 1869, of the Order of brandished lances and cold steel together with the shouts of Aviz), and also the silver military medal of valour and the silver men filled with blood-lust. The fort’s guns were spiked and its military medal of exemplary conduct.3 A photograph in magazine blown up. In a savage act of reprisal for the Montalto de Jesus’s ‘Historic Macao’ shows him wearing these 4 mutilation of Amaral, Mesquita seized and killed an unarmed medals. mandarin, a civilian, whose head and left hand were severed, Fourteen years passed before he stuck on a long pike and carried into Macau It was probably was promoted from lieutenant to the first time any Portuguese military force had ever attacked major; not until 1873 was he made a Chinese position, and the reaction in Macau was ecstatic. It a full colonel.5 Mesquita was locally- was the greatest triumph of Portuguese arms in the history of born, and aristocratic senior officers Macau since the defeat of the Dutch in 1622, more than two from had little regard for centuries before. The Portuguese report was that one this colonial upstart and his brief Portuguese soldier was severely wounded. However, a British moment of glory. source gave figures of seven Portuguese wounded and 74 Colonel Vicente Mesquita (left) Chinese dead.

Back in the city of Macau, Mesquita became an instant hero. The oppression of the Chinese mandarins that had bedevilled They would have been experts in the art of petty humiliation. Macau for close to three hundred years had been wiped away In 1851, he was placed in command of a small fort on the in just a few minutes. The patriotic elation over Mesquita’s outlying island of Taipa, remote and inconsequential. It had exploit did not die out for a long time, and the Macanese been built in the 1840s by Amaral, whose death he had so community of raised funds to present Mesquita splendidly avenged, but there was no glory in this posting. It with a sword of honour, made in Portugal, and presented a was, in effect, rustication. Nor did he receive an award in the year later. J.P. Braga, who apparently had access to a now lost more prestigious Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada (Military copy of the inscription, wrote, Order of the Tower and of the Sword), the pinnacle of the ‘The sword is described as being of splendid workmanship, Portuguese honours system, to which he believed he was entitled.6 Years of brooding on the failure of his superiors to with letters engraved in the blade, inlaid with fine gold. The inscription read, recognise and reward him as he believed he deserved consumed him with bitterness. “Ao valor intrepido do Tenente de Artilheria Vicente Nicolao de Mesquita – Seus patricios os macaenses em Hongkong, em

1 J.P. Braga, The Portuguese in Hongkong and China, p. 184. 4 C.A. Montalto de Jesus, Historic Macao, p. 352. 2 Macanese Families website, accessed 2 July 2017. 5 Wikipedia, accessed 30 June 2017. 3 ibid. 6 C.A. Montalto de Jesus, Historic Macao, p. 425. 3

The Quaker leader William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, Monte Fort, a promotion.10 However, there would be no rapid commented long ago, ‘the jealous are troublesome to others, rehabilitation for Mesquita. and a torment to themselves’.7 It took a generation before a later bishop, Paulino d’Azevedo, Tormented, Mesquita became deranged. He seems to have accepted the plea of actions committed while of unsound suffered from long periods of acute depression and episodes mind, and in 1910 permitted burial in the S. Miguel Cemetery. of derangement. He was retired from active service, but his At the same time, another significant recognition took place in bitterness then turned, not on the military establishment Shanghai. The Shanghai Volunteer Corps had been formed in which he believed had humiliated him, but on his own family. 1853 to protect the European settlement in the city of He had the idea that his daughter Iluminada was having an Shanghai. In 1906 a Portuguese Company was formed. At affaire with a medical officer, known, says Montalto de Jesus, first it was called Companhia de Voluntários Portuguêses, but the Macau historian, as a scoundrel.8 Drinking heavily, he in 1910 the company changed its name to Companhia began to stalk her. He sought the intervention of the Governor Portuguesa “Coronel Mesquita”11 and the Bishop of Macau, with the idea of sending Iluminada to a convent, but both ignored him. Over the years the Hong Kong and Shanghai Macanese At this point, his life spiralled completely out of control. One communities frequently expressed their disgust at the night he ordered his whole family to go to confession next treatment of Mesquita both before and after his death.12 morning. During the day, they sent an appeal for assistance to Eventually, a huge statue was erected in 1940 at Macau, in the the Governor, but their desperate appeal was also ignored, Largo do Senado, in front of the Leal Senado building, showing just as Mesquita himself had been. All this was long before the Mesquita urging on his valiant band to death or glory. era of Apprehended Violence Orders, but even if they had existed, it would have made no difference to the ensuing tragedy. That night, 19-20 March 1880, Mesquita shot his wife Carolina and their daughter Iluminada. A terrible scene was witnessed by Captain Porfírio de Sousa and Lt. Brito when they broke into the house at 2 a.m. As they entered the room they were confronted with the bloody corpse of Carolina who had fallen back next to the bed; her head riddled with bullets. While they were taking in this horrible sight, there was a weak moan and all eyes turned to see who was there. It was Leopoldina, the only surviving child of Mesquita’s first marriage. She had a serious wound to the head, but recovered, dying at the age of 95 in 1937. Iluminada’s body was found later. She was only nineteen. One Inauguration of the statue of Mesquita in the of Mesquita’s two sons was also wounded but he too Largo do Senado, 25 June 1940 recovered.9 Mesquita had taken his own life, drowning himself in a well. He was 61, elderly for those days.

Catholic Canon Law is quite clear about what the church must do in such a case. Canon 1184 states, ‘Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals … manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful’. So Mesquita was not given a military funeral or a requiem mass and was buried in unhallowed ground without the rites of the Catholic Church. Public opinion in Macau was kinder, in view of the man’s apparent insanity. Colonel Garcia, the commandant of the police, with most of the police force, many of the military forces and many citizens, attended the funeral, and then wrote a booklet about the tragedy. For his pains Garcia lost his position, but was later appointed to the position of commandant of the citadel,

7 William Penn (1644–1718), Fruits of Solitude, Part II, Of 10 C.A. Montalto de Jesus, Historic Macao, p. 426. Jealousy, No. 190. 11 A. Jorge da Silva, The Portuguese Community in Shanghai, 8 C.A. Montalto de Jesus, Historic Macao, p. 425. a Pictorial History, p. 64. 9 https://nenotavaiconta.wordpress.com/tag/vicente-nicolau-de- 12 J. Wordie, Macao, people and places past and present, p. 52. mesquita/page/2, accessed 3 July 2017. 4

Many years before, in 1884, a public appeal in Hong Kong had This violent act sent a powerful message to the colonial raised funds for a monument.13 However, not until 1952 was authorities. The Chinese people of Macau had destroyed this this eventually erected above Mesquita’s grave. It was symbol of ’s greatest hero which was at the unveiled on 25 August, the 103rd anniversary of the battle of same time the greatest sign of Chinese humiliation a century Passaleão. It is a fine marble monument, placed conspicuously earlier. It was a plain statement that the future would belong next to the entrance of the cemetery where it cannot be to a resurgent China. missed. The Mesquita tragedy was covered in detail in 41 pages of typescript by J.M. Braga, who gathered Garcia’s publication and material concerning the later revision of the case. "Notas biograficas por Coronel Garcia (1880); Sentença de reabilitação, 1910.” National Library of Australia MS 4353, 1910.” National Library of Australia MS 4353. Stuart Braga

Footprints in history Bruno Yvanovich

The May edition of the Casa newsletter with Dr Stuart Braga’s interesting article about the Portuguese in Malacca coincidentally arrived just after my wife Jill and I returned from a great trip to Malaysia and Singapore.

We visited Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Singapore and everywhere we found traces of Portugal’s historic presence:

• On the northern edge of Penang Island, there is a The monument to Mesquita erected in S. Miguel Cemetery in 1952 rock outcrop off a beach that was the marker for

Portuguese sailors to the northern entrance of the In addition, a main road in the northern Straits of Malacca and a crucial indicator for fresh part of Macau was named in his honour, water, essential after a long crossing of the Bay of the Avenida do Coronel Mesquita. Bengal However, the Chinese people of Macau • The National Museum in KL featured the role of never forgot the humiliation of the Portugal in the development of Malacca garrison of Baishaling and the atrocity committed on the body • The (brilliant) Asian Civilisations Museum in of the hapless official in 1849. They had to wait 117 years for Singapore displayed several Portuguese-era artefacts, vengeance, but in December 1966 a rioting mob tore down including two early 19th century paintings of Macau the statue and severed its head, replicating what had been harbour and a beautiful fan decorated with three 19th done to the Chinese mandarin. The statue was never replaced century harbour scenes of Hong Kong, Singapore and and its tall plinth was quietly removed.14 Macau.

As you would expect, it was in Malacca that the Portuguese presence was most notable and is today an important part of Malacca’s tourist market. In the centre of the city, the Maritime Museum displayed a painting from the mid-1500s’

of Malacca including the original Portuguese fort, A Famosa.

Outside, there is a full-scale replica of the ships that the Portuguese sailed on their voyages of exploration and trade. As you can judge from the people around and on it, it’s not all that large for a dangerous journey across unknown seas to the other side of the globe! I would think it’s about the length but A press cutting from the South China Morning Post as wide as a Star Ferry. Would you sail the high seas in a Star Ferry?

13 Indicated on the inscription on the monument in S. Miguel 14 L. & M. Ride, Voices of Macao Stones, pp. 53-54. Cemetery. 5

The Portuguese heritage is acknowledged officially with street names and various signs. The area is formally registered as an historic zone.

The ruins of forts variously built by the Portuguese, Dutch and British are near the city centre. The oldest is Santiago Bastion. You can still make out the Portuguese coat of arms, even after 500 years of tropical weathering.

While exploring the area, we came across a memorial to Frs. Coroado and François, the two priests mentioned in Dr Braga’s article who fought so hard to gain official recognition for the Portuguese Settlement in the 1920s’. Most delightful of all, the weathered plaque recorded that the memorial was blessed in November 1985 by Macau’s much-loved Fr. Lancelot Rodrigues – an emotive link to our present era.

The Portuguese Settlement is further out from the city centre and, as Dr Braga said, it’s more of a pseudo-Portuguese theme park these days. There is a square that is mainly a collection of open air restaurants serving ‘traditional Portuguese-style food’. Unfortunately, the (small) Portuguese Heritage It’s worth pondering how a small country on the edge of the Museum was closed when we were there. Atlantic managed to leave footprints that still endure after 500 years, on the other side of the globe, on the edge of the Pacific.

Editor’s note: Thanks Bruno for this great news item, having been to Malacca it is an amazing (if not hot) place to visit. There is more information and some intriguing photos at: https://www.colonialvoyage.com/portuguese-malacca-1511- 1641/#

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We are sad to advise that Maria Lourdes Bayot, a long-standing member who was Robert Vas - passed away peacefully on born 25th October 1929 passed away Friday 25th August 2017. He is survived by peacefully on the 19th August 2017. She was his wife Janie and their four children, four very much loved by her Family and friends. grandchildren and two great It is a great sadness but she is now at peace grandchildren. RIP and joins her husband Tony in heaven.

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The children were especially intrigued with curiosity CASA when the chefs proudly brought out the enormous Paella with pomp and flair. NEWS AROUND Needless to say, this lunch was a huge success with many members not having had this sort of cuisine for AUSTRALIA some years. The chefs went out of their way with their hospitality and huge serves. This resulted in happy families taking home the left-overs! The door prizes are always a great attraction with beaming faces when GREETINGS FROM CASA ADELAIDE names are called!

Our Dia de Sao Joao lunch held on 25th June had a truly Portuguese flavour.

Our chefs, Gaspar and Rosa, ran a restaurant in Lisbon before coming to Adelaide a couple of years ago. The lunch was held at the Lady Burra Restaurant in the city whereby they are the residing chefs.

Our menu started off with Cod fish balls (Bacalhau) and Croquettes with prawns followed by an entree of baked cod fish with onions, potatoes and cream.

We wish to thank Casa de Macau for continuing to promote fellowship and goodwill in our community by their contribution.

Carmen O'Brien Casa Rep for Adelaide

We had two main courses which consisted of Feijoada NSW Casa News (beans with beef, pork and chicken) and a Portuguese style Paella. The dessert was Creme Brulee.

Dia St Joao Lunch

Our Dia St Joao 2017 luncheon, was held on Sunday the 18th of June, 85 Casa de Macau members gathered together to celebrate at the Ryde-Eastwood leagues club. Our lunch on the day was indeed a feast, a large assortment of Macanese and Chinese cuisine, deserts and soft drink for each table. Following on from lunch, it was time for the raffles, and in keeping with tradition we had three large fruit baskets as prizes. A new and popular addition to our lunches is a Trivia Competition, many thanks to Marilia de Souza for organising

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the event, fantastic to see everyone participating and having collecting and balancing the fun together. lunch contributions. Thank you, Joe and Alicia. Thank you to all who attended, we have been told by many that the day was enjoyable, the food delicious and the company of friends and family fantastic.

Thank you to the Committee for your invaluable help and to

Lizette Akouri for organizing the Menu

Nina Deacon

Our monthly Lunch was held at our Casa Some of our members enjoying premises on July the themselves. 16th.Master Chefs of the day were Mario and Antonieta. On the Menu was spring Joe Viera with Manny Pacquiao. roll, minchi with small fried potatoes, Chau Mai Fun, stir fried vegies and boiled rice. For dessert: we had pineapple cake and batatada, lovingly made by Lucy Whittle. Over 30 people attended and as usual, it was really fun Jan Ribeiro and Vivienne When Lunch was over, some members decided to dance and Brooke sing to the tune of some Macanese songs. The next Sunday Lunch will be on the 15th Oct and the chefs will be Lizette and Nina. On the 12th November, Chefs will be Pauline and Cesar.

For those that never attended one of the Lunches, why not give it a try and enjoy the home cooked meal and the Roger and Georgiana DeSousa atmosphere. You will not be disappointed as everyone is very enjoying their first Qld Casa friendly. lunch meeting new /old friends and with their Casa Lucky door Please book in early as per Council regulations we can only prize accommodate 36 people at a time. Looking forward to seeing all your Happy Faces. Mary Rigby: {02} 47333862

Nina Deacon: 0412- 692252

Queensland Casa News Some of our members A big thank you again to Joe and Alicia Vieira for all their help and to Joe for being enjoying their lunch a fabulous MC again. All the festivities and prizegiving would not be the same without Joe's wonderful presentations. Also of course the behind the scenes work

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The Editor and Editorial group reserves the right to screen, accept or reject material for publication and take no responsibility for any errors or omissions as provided by authors and contributors.

While items from the Membership are sought and encouraged, the Editor reserve the right to edit articles as considered necessary. Publication of contributions is at the discretion of the Editor and the President (or nominee), and opinions expressed may not necessarily be those of the Editor, nor of the Governing Committee of Casa de Macau Inc. Australia. The Newsletter is not to be used for any member’s own discourse. It is not intended to promote any propaganda nor support any political or religious affiliations. The contents are produced in good faith as a service for the benefit of Casa de Macau Members and as a

method of communication within the Macanese

community in Australia and abroad. Any item One of our new members Charlie Falk enjoying his first Casa submitted for inclusion MUST be the author’s own lunch and winning a prize from the Macau Tourism office. work. Articles copied from other sources will not be considered for inclusion.

Casa de Macau Australia Casa de Macau Inc. P O Box A908 SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1235 Macanese Cultural Centre (MCC) 244 Unwins Bridge Rd SYDENHAM

Best wishes to our South Australian member Irene Xiomarra Vargas Place for her recent hospital admission. We wish her well for a speedy recovery. Forte Valente!

As postal and printing costs increase please let your CASA know that you are happy to receive your newsletter and other information by E-mail. Please send your details to Mary Rigby: [email protected]

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From Paula Cruz McFayden - My son Conor and his wife Nicole had a son, my long- Robert and Antonia Olaes awaited grandson Daniel Cruz will celebrate their Golden Wedding McFayden he's 5 months old Anniversary on 20 September 2017. Here’s a recent photo of them. They enjoy keeping nicely busy and are most From Pauline Pereira pleased to have returned Congratulations to Nikki and to their line-dancing and Andrew Deacon on the birth of tap-dancing activities, their first child, a son, Conrad among other interests John Deacon. Born on Tuesday, June 20th at 8.09pm. Second grandchild but first grandson Robert Olaes enjoyed for Pauline and Cesar Pereira! his OBE (Over Blessed Welcome to the world little Eighty) on Wednesday one! 26 July 2017 when he turned 80. His younger son Matthew, Matt’s wife Fiona and their children Tyrone, Audrey and Xavier treated him and wife Kristy Wan sends her sincere Antonia to a lovely thanks to the Casa for holiday up in Port awarding her the bursary Douglas to mark the occasion. Robert still enjoys conducting towards her degree at the some Tai Chi classes and here’s a picture taken just a couple University of Technology of days before his birthday when he was presented with a Sydney. Kristy graduated on lovely card and gift from the group at OWN (Older Women’s the 21 May 2017 with a Network) in Sutherland. Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Writing and Cultural Studies). She currently works as Content Manager / Digital Media Coordinator for both Red Room Poetry (a non-profit arts organisation) and the Australian Shareholders' Association (a non-profit advocacy group for retail shareholders). Kristy is the daughter of Maureen and Danny Wan, granddaughter of Elsilia and the late Turibio Jose Cruz.

Robert and family celebrating in Port Douglas

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MACAO FIREWORKS CHALLENGE CANCELLED From Tony da Silva I Need Photographs for a New Book… FOR the first time in its illustrious 29-year history, the upcoming Macao International Fireworks Display Contest The Portuguese Community in Macau – has been cancelled, one of many victims of the chaos A Pictorial History generated by furious Typhoon Hato. I have just been asked by the Instituto Internacional de The contest was set to begin this Saturday (Sep 2) with a Macau (IIM) to write this book to complete the set that team from Perth – Cardile Fireworks – to kick off the month- was written about the families in Hong Kong and long challenge as Australia’s representative team. Shanghai. This book will include photographs of those But sadly, due to the widespread damage caused by the who were born in Macau and were living in Macau. typhoon and as a mark of respect to those killed and injured Family photos can be up to the present day, but in the massive storm, the event was cancelled. individual photo unless they are related to a special Meanwhile, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) event in Macau, should be before 1950. is making unreserved efforts to coordinate and handle I need the help of the community worldwide to various tasks in the wake of the typhoon, which took the contribute photographs with the names of as many in lives of six, injured more than 150 and left the city with the photographs as possible. The photos should be sent widespread damage. in before the end of 2017. With wind gusts of up to 240km/h compounded by severe Please send the photos to the author’s personal email: tidal conditions, the former Portuguese enclave felt the full [email protected] fury of the typhoon, the most severe storm to hit the city in more than five decades. th Happy 90 birthday Oriel Seyer The high tide created massive flooding in low-lying areas, causing a city-wide blackout, water supply stoppages and telecommunication breakdowns. The disaster relief authorities reported 290 incidents caused by the typhoon, such as falling trees, antenna cables and advertising boards. Since a number of districts in Macao and the islands are currently under cleaning and restoration work, the MGTO urges cooperation to minimise visits to the affected districts so that restoration work can be carried out smoothly. It was the first time since 1999 that Macau had hoisted the No. 10 signal, the highest typhoon warning signal, officials said. MGTO operates its tourist information counters at the Ritz Building, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, Border Gate, Macau International Airport and Taipa Ferry Terminal as usual to attend to visitors. Due to various degrees of damage at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and Taipa Ferry Terminal, tour groups to Macao were affected. The MGTO has approached hotel properties for further information on their situations, including their status of water and power supply as well as room reservation.

If visitors have already made their room reservation or are planning to make a reservation in Macao, they are advised to enquire with the respective hotels of their latest situations. The MGTO has also assigned inspectors to patrol different ports of entry in Macao for prompt awareness of the latest situations. The tourism body is currently examining and accessing the situations and conditions concerning its upcoming events. If any new arrangement arises, a public notice will be made accordingly. MGTO advises residents and visitors to pay

Oriel with her three children, Karen, attention to the situations concerned. Sandra and Keith (who are also CASA members). For enquiries, please contact the 24-hour tourism hotline service at 0011 853 28333000.

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